AMERICAN FOCUS

With the 2012 run for the White House beginning to take longer strides, President Obama, the incumbent, has unleashed a tirade declaring in a rather high-toned manner that , “I won’t go back!” One can interpret that statement in various ways but the most intriguing one is the unspoken suggestion that Obama has actually made progress away from a bad situation in his first term in office. This may be as close as Obama comes to actually talking about his performance in his first term…history in the making. Let us be clear about where we are at the present in this country before we get the feeling that we have come to a better place.

The federal government continues to operate in a deficit spending manner logging approximately $1.25 trillion dollars in add national debt with each passing year. During Obama’s tenure, that debt has increased by $5 trillion dollars and continues to grow as his administration looks for more and more ways to increase spending. Our debt now closely matches our annual GDP…basically assets equal liabilities. If we continue on this path, our liabilities will soon exceed our assets signaling our official bankruptcy as a nation. The government has not had a budget in over three years and is operating on an open checkbook. Fiscal responsibility has been flushed down the toilet both at the presidential level and in the legislative branch as well.

The Justice Department under the direction of Attorney General, Eric Holder, is woefully out of control and seemingly on a hunt to invade as many sectors of the American public as possible. Holder has engaged in illegal activities with the “Fast & Furious” gun campaign which resulted in the death of a Border Patrol officer. He has openly defied both Congressional oversight and ignored the Constitution as his focus seems to be more on making a name for himself politically than it is on protecting and defending the Constitution…a very important aspect of his oath of office. Holder is basically on a mission to terminate gun ownership in America and he will do it in any manner which will accomplish the task while both Congress and the Supreme Court sit idly by and allow it to happen.

Our welfare rolls are loaded with illegal immigrants who have come to America to simply live off the fat of the land. They demand rights which are not granted to them as non-citizens and concessions in the arena of education, language, etc. The government, under Obama, has terminated all programs designed to seal off the border and refuses to discuss any efforts to do so. Obama has placed illegal immigration on the back-burner for now hoping that he can hang on the Hispanic and Latino vote with the promise of immigration reform in his second term. Any plan which Obama might have in that area will move the nation closer and closer to blanket amnesty programs and reinvigorate the illegal immigration flow. Reform without secure borders is simply a waste of time and taxpayer money.

Obama-Care awaits the July decision of the Supreme Court as to its constitutionality. This utopian social program is the clearest representation of all that America cannot afford in terms of spending along with insurmountable damage to our current healthcare institutions. The government does not have a positive track record in successfully running anything without pouring more and more money into it. The U.S. Postal Service should be the poster child for that ability. The only thing the Postal Service is doing successfully is putting itself out of business one –cent at a time. Obama has already taken $500 billion dollars out of the assets of Medicare to finance the launch of his healthcare reform. This piece of legislation is his chosen legacy in history and he will spend any amount of money necessary in order to make that legacy a reality. In the end, Americans who work will pay more for their healthcare which will be rationed and inefficient. The cost of poverty will be a burden cast upon the individual states through Medicaid leading only to a greater financial burden for working Americans.

We have watched as, early on, Obama gutted the mission of NASA. For all the years and money spent in pursuit of a presence in space, and for all the technological advancement which has come from it, our nation now has to hitch a ride to the space station in order to participate. All this, done in the interest of “saving money”, means very little in light of the amount of money which has been literally wasted in the past few years on stimulus, green projects, and other forms of money laundering for campaign favors. Now it seems that the military in next on the list to be trimmed back all on the promise of a “leaner, meaner, and more technologically advanced military machine. Ironically, technology has been one of the big drivers of cost in the military but our president is willing to hang on to it in lieu of “boots on the ground”.

Class envy and ethnic distrust are at an all-time high in the country thanks to the endless tirades by the President citing the lack of taxes paid by the rich as the basis for poverty among the poor. President Obama claims to be all about making things better for the middle class yet his actions spell out a long-term disaster for that sector of America. Using tax comparisons between Warren Buffet and his personal secretary which are misleading and wantonly ignorant in their conclusions is fair game to this administration in attempting to demolish the current tax levies and find a basis to raise them. The simple truth of the matter is that the government cannot raise significant revenue through taxation without taking it out on the middle-class workers of America…the largest sector of working people. Increased taxation on the rich, especially in the areas of capital gains, only stymies investment on our shores thus suppressing growth in the economy and the jobs market. Ultimately, this leads to even less revenue streaming into the government because less products are being made, less profits turned, less income taxed, and a continued overall shrinkage of the economic engine.

The private sector business side of the American economy is sitting idle at present thanks in great part to the actions of the Obama Administration. The lack of fiscal responsibility in Washington has investors and business people running from investment and focused on capital liquidity. Regulations, threats of taxation, EPA actions and oversight, the ever-growing cost of energy and the suppression of efforts to discover more, government-run healthcare, the lack of checks and balances in government, legislative gridlock, and a rapidly growing national debt all roll together to keep the fires of fear burning in the hearts of American investors and businessmen. For Obama to conclude that the private sector is “fine” is simply one of the most ignorant conclusions ever voiced by a politician who seems to have no understanding of economics whatsoever, or, it is nothing more than smoke to cover the path of economic destruction which Obama plans to continue in his second-term. One thing is for sure…unless the current situation in Washington changes drastically with the 2012 elections, the American economy will continue to stagnate and falter even more in the coming years, especially if it continues to follow the directions of this administration.

There are no miracles nor are there any miracle-workers out there in the political world that can immediately change the items discussed about. There are plenty who can worsen them to an even greater degree. This nation belongs to its people and any one occupying a place in elected government or government service should never lose sight of that fact. Every elected official takes an oath of office to protect and defend the Constitution of The United States of America for good reason. It is the strength and endurance of that document which has bound us together as a nation and provided the platform for our focus on freedom, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Without it, the people of this country exist on the whims of those who occupy office and impose their brand of governing. As a nation, we the people, must show our resolve to stop this downward spiral into debt and economic ruin; to stop the dismantling of our republic and the documents which guide its governance; to return ourselves to economic prosperity; and to reduce the size and scope of the federal government in the process. This is a focus which will require some sacrifice and a long-term resolve and we can only pray that we can gain leadership in the White House which will motivate us as a nation to shoulder the task.

In the coming months, you will continue to hear this President rail about “not going back” suggesting that he has created a better place here in America. You will see him shy away from his own record while attacking the opposition with issues that have no bearing on the subject at hand. Nothing can stop this approach. We, as voters, must see it for what it is and realize that America does have the opportunity in 2012 to get off this train and begin a journey back to economic growth and stability along with Constitutional governance as the primary guide to our elected ones. Whether we make that change or not is what makes the election of 2012 more critical than any election in our history as a nation. This election is not about a man or woman. It is an election about a direction and our future as a nation. Do not let distractions and suggestions of a return to a place that does not exist come into play. The only sure thing we face at the present is the destructive path which this President and his administration have placed us on as a people…that is all this President has to offer for the future.

©Copyright WBrown2012. All Rights Reserved.

13 June 2012